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• Toon Thursday: When Dad's a Disney Legend, that's a tough act to follow

  Floyd Norman looks back on the careers of Peter Kahl, John Kimball and Dale King. Each of them a talented artist in their own right. Who then had to struggle in order to escape the shadows of their far more famous fathers Read More... Posted Thursday, November 05, 2009 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, Ward Kimball, 1960s, Milt Kahl , Animation Building, design , Walt Disney Productions , Disney's Animation Building , character designer , industry veterans , legacy, A-Wing

• Toon Tuesday: What was it like to work at the Mouse Factory back in the 1950s?

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman talks about what it was like to work at Walt Disney Studios in the post-strike era. And to Floyd's way of thinking, "The Bad Old Days" were pretty darned good Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 06, 2009 12:00 AM | 5 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 1950s, Hollywood, Burbank, Animation Building, Disney Commissary , California, Los Angeles , instruction, artwork , 1941 , animators strike , Walt Disney Productions , sound stage, Old Hollywood, Burbank lot , motion picture, Disney artist , Dopey Drive, good times , Disney animator , The Great Depression, artists, job, Silver Lake , animated film, young animators, Disney shorts , master animator, industry veterans , job security, animation professionals, Roy Disney, production, production team , film, animated feature film, motion pictures, leader, legacy, Riverside Drive, animated feature, animation training class, animation department

• Toon Tuesday: The End of Endless Development

  In this month's column, Disney Legend Floyd Norman weighs in on an issue that has dogged many an animated feature Read More... Posted Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:00 AM | 2 Comments Filed under: animation, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 101 Dalmatians, Hollywood, Bill Peet, young artists , animators, development , Walt Disney Productions , television , young animators, television animation , storyman, story, story team, storyboard, storyboard assignment, executives, animated feature film, studio, The Black Cauldron, animated feature

• Toon Tuesday: Remembering 2-C

  Forget about 3-D. Disney Legend Floyd Norman revisits a location at Walt Disney Studios where lots of classic animation was created Read More... Posted Tuesday, July 14, 2009 12:00 AM | 10 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, 101 Dalmatians, San Diego, Comic Con International, 1950s, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, The Jungle Book, Animation Building, shorts , animated film, shorts unit, The Great Mouse Detective, 2009, 1966, Jack Hannah, Dick Kinney, Roy Williams, Al Bertino, storyboarding, Woolie Reitherman, Basil Davidovitch, Dale Barnhart, Ray Aragon, Sammie June Lanham, Betty Gossin, Vance Gerry, Al Wilson, Sylvia Niday, Dick Lucas, Eric Cleworth, music room, the music room, 2-C, The Black Cauldron, directorial units, Joe Hale, Riverside Drive, Mark Evanier, Quick Draw, Scott Shaw!, panel, Comic-Con, Comic-Con International, convention, San Diego Convention Center, Sergio Aragones, animated feature

• Lots of entertaining tails ... er ... tales were told at "The Little Mermaid" 20th anniversary event

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman reports from Woodbury University. Where -- last Thursday night -- dozens of WDAS vets turned out to reminisce about the development & production of this Academy Award-winning animated feature Read More... Posted Monday, May 25, 2009 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, Glendale, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, California, effects shots, music , Disney animator , assignment , animated film, feature films, effects animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Academy Award winner , Alan Menken, Jeffrey Katzenberg, film, animated feature film, hand-drawn animation, WDAS, John Musker, Ron Clements, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, Mark Henn, Glen Keane, Tina Price, Andreas Deja, Ruben Aquino, Duncan Majoribanks, 20th anniversary, Woodbury University, Tom Sito, Brad Bird, Part of Your World, Kiss the Girl, Geoffrey Holder, Seven Up, Uncola Man, television commercials, Best Song, Ariel, Sebastian, Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium

• Toon Tuesday: Jim Fletcher, Disney Artist and the Ultimate Hollywood Fan

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman launches a new series at JHM by talking about a co-worker of his who really did seem to know everyone who was anyone in Tinsel town Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 21, 2009 12:00 AM | 1 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, Ward Kimball, Sleeping Beauty, 1950s, 1970s, Hollywood, Disney Commissary , Old Hollywood, Floyd Norman, Hyperion Studios, Hanna-Barbera , Hanna-Barbera Studio , 1990s, childrens books, Jim Fletcher, Chicago Institute of Art, Tinsel town, Gregory Peck, Edward G Robinson, Ed Wynn, Edgar Bergen, A-Wing, Freddy Hellmich, Fairy Crew, Des Plains, Illinois, CBS, Jack Benny, The Jack Benny Show, Hollywood Museum, preview, fundraiser, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Toluca Lake, UPA, Hanna Barbera, Format, Encino, Bill Walsh, Ruth Roman, Art Babbit, Margie Belcher, Gower Champion, Linda Darnell, Debbie Reynolds, Margaret O'Brien, Jane Withers, Charlotte Rae

• What can Walt Disney Animation Studios do to save itself? Ditch digital

  Floyd Norman is back with a column that's sure to cause some controversy. Since this Disney Legend is now suggesting that WDAS should abandon production of CG animated features and instead concentrate on reviving its hand-drawn animation unit Read More... Posted Monday, February 02, 2009 12:00 AM | 25 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, CG, Walt Disney, Sleeping Beauty, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, hand-drawn animation, digital animation, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, WDAS

• Steve Jobs: A Tough Act to Follow

  As stories continue to circulate about the Head of Apple's health problems, Disney Legend Floyd Norman looks back to the 1960s. When another company you may know suddenly had to deal with leadership & succession-related issues Read More... Posted Monday, January 19, 2009 12:00 AM | 9 Comments Filed under: Disney, Pixar, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 1960s, Pixar Animation Studios, Diane Disney Miller, Apple , artists, Walt Disney World, 1990s, pop culture, innovative, popular culture, Phil Schiller, vice president, keynote, keynote address, San Francisco, MacWorld, MacWorld Expo, MacWorld 2009, Steve Jobs, Steven P Jobs, Epcot, June, Ron Miller, CEO, Silverado Vineyards, Napa, Napa Valley, Silicon Valley, garage, innovative products, leader, legacy, 1966, visionary leaders

• Toon Tuesday : Here's to the real survivors

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman pays tribute to all those animation veterans who have hung in there through the tough times Read More... Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008 12:00 AM | 5 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, traditional animation, CG, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty, 1950s, Hollywood, Glendale, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Legend, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, Son of Faster Cheaper, Animation Building, 1956, television show, shorts , young artists , animators, animation artist, director, layoffs , Walt Disney Productions , writer/director , television , television series , Mr. Fun , Mr. Fun's Blog, Disney artist , Disney animator , artists, young animators, Survivor, desert island , craft services , drawing board, shorts unit, Rick Gonzales, cutbacks, layout artist , character designer , Hanna-Barbera , Ruby-Spears, pink slip, industry veterans , MGM Animation , Visual Arts , Bob Clampett, Bob Clampett Studio , 3400 Cahuenga Blvd , Hanna-Barbera Studio , television animation , Filmation, 1980s, Granada Hills , Dave Michener, storyman, The Great Mouse Detective, Michael Eisner , Orlando , CGI , digital bandwagon , job security, animation professionals, third world potentates, overpaid gig, old survivor, real survivors

• Toon Tuesday : Getting a head with Blaine Gibson

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman pays tribute to a master animator & sculptor. Who -- due to his soft-spoken nature -- often doesn't get the attention that he deserves Read More... Posted Tuesday, June 24, 2008 12:00 AM | 6 Comments Filed under: Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, 101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty, 1950s, Hollywood, Glendale, WDI, Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineer, Imagineering, Disneyland, theme park, Disney Legend, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, Son of Faster Cheaper, 1957 , Animation Building, Frank Thomas, shorts , young artists , effects animators , 1940s , 1961, special effects , effects shots, Mr. Fun , blog, Mr. Fun's Blog, Blaine Gibson , attraction, limo, media event , Disney Blu-Ray , Blu-Ray , Disney animator , Pirates of the Caribbean, Good Fairies , Flora, Fauna, Merryweather , 1930s, farm boy , Colorado, college, Depression, The Great Depression, artists, sketches , drawings , job, Greyhound, bus, train, Silver Lake , Hyperion Studios, assignment , drawing, apprentices , animated film, phases of production, messenger boys, Traffic Department, young animators, Disney shorts , feature films, effects, effects animation, plum scenes , master animator, top animators, clean-up, clean-up crew , opening scenes , Pongo, Roger, personality, movement , sequence, Walt Disney World, Montecito , Santa Barbara , George W Bush , bust , WDW, The Hall of Presidents, animation treasure

• Toon Thursday : Mermaids, donuts and musical concrete

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman is back with a trio of wild & wacky stories from his days at the Mouse House. And did we mention that Mr. Fun now has his very own blog ? Read More... Posted Thursday, April 17, 2008 12:00 AM | 5 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, books, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, Ward Kimball, 1960s, Mouse House, Glendale, Burbank, The Walt Disney Company, Imagineering, Disneyland, theme park, Disney Legend, Toontown, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, cataroo.com, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, Son of Faster Cheaper, Animation Building, animators, Bob's Big Boy , artwork , Disney history , Walt Disney Productions , 1940s , Burbank lot , Jim Hill , Floyd Norman, JHM , Mr. Fun , Mr. Fun's Blog, JimHillMedia, Favorites list , shameless plugging , column, Disney's Animation Building , Disney art , crazy, creative , corporate , rock band, album, Music Concrete, electronic music, space epic , F-Wing , old Animation Building, coffee machine, coffee maker , vending machine, donuts, donut, donut machine , ants, ant, Disney artist , Disney staffers , gags, Jack Fergus, sculptor , attraction, sculpture , B-Wing, mermaid , Disney backlot , boxing movie , Dopey Drive, movers, moving crew , book

• Caught in "The Parent Trap" -- Part II

  In the final installment of his new two-part series, Disney Legend Floyd Norman recalls what it was like to be on the Burbank lot while this 1961 David Swift movie was being filmed Read More... Posted Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:00 AM | 4 Comments Filed under: Disney, movies, Walt Disney, Hollywood, Burbank, Animation Building, employees , screening rooms , director, The Parent Trap , Annette Funicello, Hayley Mills , Pollyanna, A Walt Disney Production , Walt Disney Productions , writer/director , David Swift, Bud Swift , 1961, Petticoats and Blue Jeans , sound stage, Maureen O'Hara , Brian Keith, Leo G Carroll, Nancy Kulp , Frank DeVol , Stage Two, special effects , special photographic technique , camera optics , sodium matte process , Burbank lot , actor, matte system , special camera lens , Alexander Korda , Eustace Lycett , optical equipment , special effects wizards, Ruth McDevitt , Disney Princess , Belle, John Mills, rough cut, effects shots, Bill Justice , title sequence , Sherman brothers , Tommy Sands, Disney movie, twin girls, twins, identical twins , twin daughters

• Caught in "The Parent Trap" -- Part I

  In the first installment of this new two-part series, Disney Legend Floyd Norman describes what it was like to visit the set of this 1961 David Swift film Read More... Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2008 12:00 AM | 5 Comments Filed under: Disney, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, Ward Kimball, 101 Dalmatians, 1960s, Hollywood, Burbank, The Walt Disney Company, Disney Legend, D-Wing , Animation Building, Frank Thomas, Disney Commissary , California, television show, director, Disney history , The Parent Trap , 1960, Annette Funicello, Hayley Mills , Pollyanna, A Walt Disney Production , Walt Disney Productions , writer/director , Disney geek, Bud Swift , Minneapolis, Minnesota , 1940s , United States Air Force , radio , comedy writing , 1949, television , scriptwriting, screenplay, Philco Television Playhouse , Playhouse 90, The Rifleman, Wagon Train , television series , Mr. Peepers, Wally Cox, Jamie, 1961, Petticoats and Blue Jeans , sound stage, Maureen O'Hara , Brian Keith, Leo G Carroll, Charlie Ruggles, Nancy Kulp , Frank DeVol , on location, Northern California, Stage Two, Director of Photography , Hollywood veteran , Lucien Ballard , Old Hollywood, special effects , screen double, special photographic technique , camera optics , sodium matte process , compositing , on-camera double, redhead , Burbank lot , studio commissary, Robert Keith , Julie Andrews , actor, press agent , handler, motion picture

• Toon Tuesday: Disney's "B" Movie

  Long before Jerry Seinfeld and DreamWorks began talking about making "Bee Movie," this subject was alive & well at Walt Disney Studios Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:00 AM | 20 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, Walt Disney, Ward Kimball, Hollywood, Burbank, The Walt Disney Company, Bill Peet, Animation Building

• Toon Tuesday : Disney's Night School

  Disney Legend Floyd Norman reminisces about the after-hours animation classes that used to be offered on the Disney lot back in the 1950s Read More... Posted Tuesday, January 15, 2008 12:00 AM | 3 Comments Filed under: animation, Disney, movies, traditional animation, books, Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney, Sleeping Beauty, 1950s, Mouse House, Burbank, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt was right, Disney Legend, Faster! Cheaper! The Flip Side of the Art of Animation, John Cawley, cataroo.com, How the Grinch Stole Disney, Afrokids.com, Son of Faster Cheaper, ABC, Animation Building, Frank Thomas, California, California Institute of the Arts , Cal Arts, Sheridan College, 1956, shorts , Nine Old Men , Chouinard Art Institute , Los Angeles , young artists , animators, layout artists, background painters , night school, instruction, classmates , employees , screening rooms , Joshua Meador, effects animators , painter, palette knife , brush, True-Life Adventure , Jack Foster , Ken O'Connor , animation artist, design , Fantasia, Dance of the Hours, artwork , development , pencil test, John Sparey, mentoring program , Ollie Johnston , chops , director, Disney history , Bob McCrea , bankruptcy, 1941 , 1941 animators strike , animators strike , Bill Eigle , layoffs , master class , after-hours